Eustis' Ellis Warns Other Students About 'Senioritis'

May 19, 1985|By Creig Ewing of the Sentinel Staff

Boogie Ellis learned an important lesson the difficult way. Ellis and Jay Carter were both starting pitchers on Eustis High School's baseball team this year. Carter finished the season with a 13-3 record. Ellis was finished before the season ended with a 1-1 record, the apparent victim of ''senioritis.'' Ellis, who says he is an average student, failed two classes in a nine-week grading period which brought his grade-point average for that nine weeks down to 1.4. According to Florida High School Activities Association rules, if a student's GPA falls below 1.5 for a grading period he or she cannot compete in extracurricular activities for the next grading period. Ellis had to quit the team about one-third of the way through the season. A common side effect of senioritis, Ellis said that he didn't realize that he was in danger of being academically ineligible until the report cards came out, and it was too late. Ellis still attended most of the Panthers' games as a spectator even though it ate him up inside to think that he let the team down, and he had to take a lot of ribbing from the players, the most popular of which was, ''Hey, Boogie. How much did you have to pay to get in?'' Ellis will graduate on time but that is little consolation. ''I heard a couple of colleges were looking at me, but when this happened they weren't interested,'' he said. ''That kind of hurt. Baseball is my thing. It made me think.'' Ellis agreed to talk about his situation in the hope that it will keep others from repeating his mistake. He is now playing on the Eustis Big Legue team and hoping that he can still make the grade with a college scout.

Al Merrill's dream is finally becoming a reality in Umatilla, but maybe not quickly enough. Merrill is building a bicycle motocross track off State Road 19 across from the Golden Gem plant. The track is supposed to open the first week of June and host a state Super Cross race June 23, but there is still a lot of work to do. Merill, 36, owner of Merrill's Garage in Umatilla and a city councilman, and a couple of volunteers are working seven days a week until 10 or 11 p.m. trying to get the track ready. ''We've worked on it for almost two years, and we're finally getting some response, but we are hurting for help,'' he said. The track is on land donated by Merrill's father. Merrill formed a non-profit organization, Umatilla BMX Track, Inc., to run the track, and much of the work and material has been donated. Merrill said that he could really use the services of a carpenter and plumber to help with the restrooms and concession stand. There is also plenty of work left to do on the track itself. The track will be the first in Lake County. A 34-foot long tunnel, fashioned from the town's old water tower, which cyclists will ride through and over, will make it unique. Merrill said that few BMX tracks have tunnels, and he doesn't know of any that double as a hill. Merrill said that the idea behind the track is to give Lake County kids something to do. ''We run a 24- hour wrecker service, and I would have to go out sometimes and pick up kids that were in accidents. A lot of times they were drunk or on drugs, and I believe it was just because they were bored and didn't have anything else to do,'' he said. Merrill's children, Robbie, 14, and Deanna, 11, began BMX racing several years ago. ''I decided that if I can do it for my kids I can do it for everyone's kids.'' Anyone wishing to help can call Merrill at 669-2232.

It's spring, and the footballs are in the air. All the county high schools have their jamborees Friday, and one interesting thing to watch will be each team's passing game. Many area schools are concentrating heavily on passing during spring practice. It remains to be seen whether passing will be limited to third-and-long or will sweep high schools the way it has the National Football League and college teams in recent years. High schools have been historically run-oriented, mainly because the plays are easier to learn, and it takes more skilled athletes to throw and catch the ball. But to be successful nowadays, a high school team has to be able to do both. Umatilla Coach Brent Bickhart on the advantages of passing: ''You've got to be able to pass to win. Defenses have more holes when the offense passes. You have to worry about the whole field. Not just the width of the field.''